When Dreams Come True
by Jax25
Summary: Written for Swan Queen Week on Tumblr - Day 4 "Soulmates" Regina has a reoccurring dream about her soulmate. It takes her far too long to piece together who it is.


**A/N: This fic exists as "in canon" as I could make it, though it assumes that Killian never comes back from the Underworld (in other words, he stays dead). As I was keeping it in canon, Robin and Regina is a thing for a while. If that bothers you, might want to pass on the story.**

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She was having the dreams again. The ones that she had been having on and off for years. The ones where she was surrounded by mirrors, frantically searching for the way out, but only seeing her face reflected from every surface. She was trapped, trapped in a place where she had to face herself.

Screaming out in rage, she started shattering the mirrors, but for each mirror she shattered, a new one would spring up in its place. She knew that she had to get out of that room. She had to find someone. The warrior, clad in black leather, armed with shining sword and shimmering magic. His presence called to her, beckoning from beyond the reflective glass, but she could not get to him. Glass from a hundred broken mirrors crunched underfoot, shards piercing the velvet of her gown as she sank to her knees, sobbing.

As always, she woke up panting, with tears leaking from the corners of her eyes. A cold sweat trickled down the back of her neck and she stumbled her way into the bathroom for a glass of water. Her hands shook a little as she lifted the glass to her lips. Catching sight of her reflection in the mirror of her vanity, she felt the near uncontrollable urge to shatter that glass too, but she managed to stop herself in time.

The worst part about the dream was not the terror that it brought about in the moment, but the horrible sense of longing it left behind. She didn't know who this unnamed warrior was but she knew without a doubt that he was her soulmate, her happy ending. No sooner had Regina had that thought than she was scoffing at herself. Daniel had been her soulmate and he was dead. There would be no others. Not for her.

The Swan woman was the bane of her existence. Honestly, she was an absolute menace. Every time Regina turned around, Emma was sticking her nose into business that had did not concern her, and boundaries seemed to be a thing that the blonde had never heard of. It would have been bad enough dealing with her if their quarrel wasn't over Henry, but as it was…

Regina gritted her teeth. The savior had to go. Permanently.

It wasn't the best plan she'd ever come up with, but it would have to do. She worked with the materials she had available to her.

Of course it failed.

And then there was the frantic scramble to save her soul – though why she should want to save it, she would later come to wonder. Why Emma would want to help, she wondered in the moment. There was no time and no answer, just the wave of magic that surged through her when she and Emma touched. Then Emma was gone, trapped in the Enchanted Forest with her mother and the wraith. Regina couldn't understand why that left her so unsettled, but it did.

That night she dreamed of the mirrors and awoke sobbing.

Tempers were frayed, particularly hers. They needed to find Henry and Pan was busy playing his games. Emma had at last admitted who she really was, so they had the map, but that didn't make things easier. They spent hours hacking their way through the jungle, only to find out that Pan's camp had moved. When they made camp of their own that night, Regina was full of frustration and worry, so it was perhaps less than surprising that when she did finally manage to sleep, she found herself in the room full of mirrors.

It was almost cathartic this time as she let loose her rage, as she always did, shattering mirror after mirror after mirror. There was still no door. No way out. This time, however, she felt the pull toward her warrior stronger than she ever had. The tug was almost a palpable thing, leading her to one side of the circle. She reached out, laying her hand on the cool, unyielding glass, her own face staring back at her, streaked with tears. There had to be a way through. There _had to_ , but her magic was not enough. It had never been enough.

Something occurred to her then that had never occurred to her before: what if her warrior was on his side, trying to get to her, but found himself just as trapped as she? Regina took a deep breath and cried out, listening intently for an answer that never came. She cried out again, and again, beating her fists against the glass as she wailed.

Hands were on her, shaking her roughly awake. The real world came back in a rush and she gasped, her eyes flying open. "Shhh, shhh, Regina, it's okay! It's okay. You were having a nightmare."

Her eyes were moving wildly while her brain tried to grasp onto reality. A face hovered above her, framed with blonde hair, burnished silver in the moonlight. The hilt of a sword peeked over her shoulder. Emma. Without conscious thought, Regina was sitting up and pulling the other woman into a desperate hug, burying her face into Emma's shoulder. Tentative arms settled around her in return, patting her back awkwardly. "Hey there. Hey. It's…it's okay. I've got you. It was just a dream."

Regina didn't know how to explain to Emma that it wasn't _just_ a dream, so she said nothing. Instead, she simply sat there for a moment with the blonde held tight against her, taking comfort in the steady in and out of her breathing. At last she let her go, gave an embarrassed half-smile, and wiped away her tears. "I'm…sorry, Emma. That was a hell of a nightmare."

She'd tried to make her voice light, but there was something in Emma's eyes that made it hard to hold her gaze, as though she could see right through her. Just as Regina was about to drop her own to stare at something else, the blonde murmured, "Yeah. Well, you should try to get some more sleep if you can." Her hand found Regina's in the darkness, and gave it a squeeze. "I've got the watch. You'll be safe."

"My happy ending isn't a man."

She didn't know why she was even talking to the madwoman and her son, but there was something…something that kept her rooted to the spot, watching those green eyes welling up with tears. This woman was clearly a fighter, and she was calling on Regina to do fight too when every instinct told her she should run. Well, not _every_ instinct. The blonde was really attractive, especially in that blue jerkin. Blue was a good color on her.

Regina gave herself a mental kick. The woman was spilling her heart, telling her about how her chance at getting her own love back depended on Regina's kissing Robin Hood, and here she was letting herself get distracted by how good-looking the woman was. This was definitely not the time nor the place. So she let herself get talked into their foolhardy errand, following along behind Emma and Henry to the church, intent on crashing Robin's wedding. Maybe they were right. Maybe it was her destiny. She stood there staring at Robin, but her eyes were drawn back to the blonde with her sword, now lying unconscious atop a pile of grain sacks, and she felt pulled in two directions.

In the end, she ran back to save the boy, because that was more important. As she lay dying, though it was Robin who knelt by her side, it was Emma's fierceness that kept intruding, drawing her focus away from the man they'd told her was her happy ending. Then Henry was there, with a book, rewriting their story and she opened her eyes…in Storybrooke. Her memories were back, and Emma was sprinting off in search of her pirate. That shouldn't have hurt as much as it did, especially with Robin by her side, but the feeling was there and Regina couldn't deny it to herself.

Mere hours later, Emma was gone, taken by the darkness. She'd sacrificed herself for Regina, and Regina was going to get her back.

It was a long time before she got the opportunity to sleep, and this time when she walked into the room of mirrors, she was not surprised at all. She didn't fly into a rage. She didn't break the mirrors. Instead she drew a deep breath and walked straight for the spot behind which her warrior waited. Regina knew without doubt that he was there. She could feel his magic, powerful and light. It called to hers. Even so, she could still not see him, nor was there a way through the impenetrable wall. She laid her forehead against the glass and heaved a deep sigh. The longing was worse than it had ever been, no longer hidden by the violence of her rage.

"Please," she whispered, settling her palm on the glass near her head, "please, let me through. I need his help."

The dream world didn't listen. Of course it didn't. Regina had been trying to break through for years, to no avail. She sank down to the floor with her back against the mirror, her knees pulled up to her chin and her arms wrapped around them. Heaving a deep sigh of frustration, she closed her eyes and waited to wake up.

"Regina?"

Her eyes snapped open and she was awake. There was no sign of anyone near who would have spoken her name, and she couldn't remember now if the voice had been familiar. The memory faded that quickly. Robin's strong arms were around her, but he slumbered on, completely unaware of her sleep journey. She sighed again, settling closer to him, though discontent was starting to seep through her. Tinkerbell may have thought that Robin was Regina's soulmate, but she now knew that he wasn't. Her true soulmate was on the other side of that mirror. She just needed to find the way through.

What the hell had just happened? Regina looked around at the others as they all picked themselves off the floor of Granny's. They had just been entering Camelot and now they were back in Storybrooke. Everyone was there – with one glaring exception.

"Where's Emma?"

There was a whooshing sound behind her, "Relax. I'm right here." Regina whipped around, and her heart plummeted into her belly. That was the moment she knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt. Her warrior. Her soulmate. Black leather and light magic and shining sword: it had been Emma all along. But how could that be? Emma was the Dark One now. Her magic was no longer light. Regina had clearly failed. In the conversation that followed, Emma confirmed it.

Was that why Regina had never been able to break through the mirrors? Was she doomed to live forever apart from the other half of her soul due to her own failings?

She didn't want to believe that, but her own self-loathing was so strong it insisted that must be the reason. Now wasn't the time to figure it out, however. They had to save Emma first, if they could. There would be plenty of time to sort out her feelings afterward.

Regina stood looking down on Robin's coffin, her thoughts and emotions an overwhelming swirl. She was thankful for the well-wishes of their friends and family, but she just wanted to be alone right now. Despite the fact that they hadn't been soulmates after all, she had still loved him. The assembled started drifting away, all except Emma. Regina could feel her standing behind her. They shared a grief, and as much as anything else, that drew them together.

A soft, warm hand settled on her shoulder, and Regina felt her magic responding. She stared at the coffin for a while longer, then turned and wrapped her arms around Emma, pulling her close. The blonde looked surprised at first but she let herself relax into the embrace. They both needed the comfort.

"Let's…go somewhere else," Regina suggested, not wanting to say what she felt needed to be said while standing atop Robin's grave. No matter what her failings, she had more respect for him than that.

It took Emma a while to respond, but at last she nodded. "Alright."

Regina stepped out of the hug and instead took Emma's hand, earning her a frown, and transported them to the bench by the waterfront. It was as good a place as any. Nobody but the two of them were around. She refused to relinquish Emma's hand once they were there, and Emma made no move to break the connection. The curious frown remained, but she waited patiently for Regina to speak.

A minute passed, and then another. Regina looked out toward the water, gathering her thoughts. "Robin wasn't my soulmate, you know?" she finally said.

"He wasn't?" Emma gave no indication of what was passing through her head at that admission.

"No." Silence fell between them again before Regina took a breath and went on. "I thought he was, but I realized a little while ago that it was someone else."

"Someone else."

"Yes."

"It's me."

"Yes."

She listened as Emma drew in a deep breath and let it out. "And how did you come to this conclusion?"

"I've been dreaming about my true soulmate for years. When you fully became the Dark One, that's when I knew it was you." Regina was surprised to hear a laugh from the woman next to her, and turned her eyes back to her. "What?"

"Only _you_ would decide that I was your soulmate _after_ I became the Dark One."

Regina wanted to feel defensive at that, but all that came was a laugh of her own. "I guess you've got a point." She was silent again, letting the easy moment linger before continuing, "I know this is a horrible time to tell you. We've both put to rest men that we loved. I just thought it needed to be out in the open."

Emma nodded. "I really wish you would have come to this realization sooner."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Regina, I've been in love with you for three years, but I never thought you felt the same way. That's why I finally gave in to Killian. I knew I'd never love him the way I loved you, but I loved him enough for it to be something."

"Why did you never tell me?" There were tears glittering in Regina's eyes again and as the first one fell, Emma reached up to brush it away.

"I didn't want you to call me an idiot and reject me."

"Emma?"

"Yeah?"

"You're an idiot." Regina smiled through her tears and pulled Emma in for a kiss.

That night, Regina dreamed of a hall full of mirrors. As she stood there, blinking in confusion, the mirrors slowly slid into the floor and Emma was standing there. She was clad in black leather and holding a sword, her entire form glowing in the light of the savior's magic. Their eyes met and the other woman smiled. "Regina. At last."

She woke gently in Emma's arms, and for the first time, knew what it was to be held by her true soulmate.


End file.
